News Analysis India

Tag: neet row

  • 18th Lok Sabha Inaugural Session To Witness Fireworks Over Speaker Election, NEET Row |

    Monday marks the start of the 18th Lok Sabha’s first session, during which freshly elected members of parliament, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, will take the oath of office. The opposition is likely to corner the BJP-led NDA government on the June 26 Speaker election, debates about alleged paper leaks in NEET-UG and UGC-NET, and a dispute over the pro-tem Speaker’s appointment, therefore the first session is expected to be turbulent.

    Bhartruhari Mahtab, a legislator from the Bharatiya Janata Party, will take the oath of office as the acting Speaker of the Lok Sabha from President Droupadi Murmu. Mahtab will next ask Leader of the Lok Sabha, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, to swear in as a member of the House. 

    The Lok Sabha Speaker will be chosen on June 26. The address of President Droupadi Murmu to the joint session of both houses of Parliament is set for June 27.

    The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) won 293 seats, the INDIA bloc won 234 seats, and the Congress held 99 seats. This is the first session of the 18th Lok Sabha following the general elections.
    In the meantime, a meeting of the newly elected Congress MPs has been arranged for today at 10 a.m. at the CPP office in Parliament.

    NEET Row To Shadow The Proceedings

    After the alleged irregularities in the medical entrance examination National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test-Undergraduate 2024 (NEET-UG), Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi targeted the BJP and said that they stand with the students.

    The row over the appointment of BJP leader Bhartruhari Mahtab as the pro-tem Speaker is expected to shadow the proceedings as opposition claimed that Congress Member K Suresh, who is the senior most member was disregarded by the government.

    Meanwhile, BJP MP Bhartruhari Mahtab, who has been appointed as the pro-tem Speaker, will administer the oath to newly elected members and oversee the proceedings of the House.

    The Congress has reacted sharply to the central government’s decision to appoint seven-term BJP MP Bhartruhari Mahtab as Pro-tem Speaker of Lok Sabha over senior-most Dalit MP Kodikkunnil Suresh of Congress, saying that the appointment by the BJP deviates from the traditional practice of appointing the senior member.

    Congress leader K Suresh said that there is an eighth-term MP in the House, but a seventh-term MP has been appointed as pro-tem Speaker.
     

  • ‘Even If 0.001% Negligence…’: Supreme Court Slams Exam Body NTA Over NEET Row |

    NEET 2024 Exam Result Row Latest News: With the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) examination facing all-around criticism, the Supreme Court has slammed the National Testing Agency for the alleged irregularities and negligence in conducting the prestigious national exam for medical college aspirants. “Even if there’s 0.001% negligence on anyone’s part, it should be thoroughly dealt with,” said the top Court while hearing the petitions filed by aspirants challenging the exam result.

    The results for the medical entrance examination, taken by 2.4 million students on May 5, were announced on June 4. Allegations of an exam paper leak soon emerged, with 67 students reportedly achieving perfect scores of 720/720.

    The next hearing in the case is scheduled for July 8. The top court emphasized the importance of fairness in the examination process, stating, “As an agency conducting the examination, you must act fairly. If there is a mistake, acknowledge it and outline the corrective action. This approach inspires confidence in your performance.”

    Grace marks were allegedly given to compensate for lost time at the exam centres. Numerous student organizations have protested against the alleged NEET irregularities, including incidents of incorrect question papers being distributed, Optical Mark Recognition (OMR) sheets being damaged, and delays in sheet distribution.

    Last week, the National Testing Agency (NTA) informed the Supreme Court that the grace marks awarded to 1,563 candidates in the NEET-UG exam would be revoked, offering these candidates the opportunity to retake the exam on June 23. The results of the re-test are expected to be released before June 30.

    Candidates who opt not to retake the exam will have their original scores reinstated, minus the extra marks.

    Bihar police have arrested 13 people in connection with an alleged NEET paper -leak while the Gujarat Police have arrested some persons accused of compromising an entire exam centre in Bharuch.